


The Crimson Exorcist

by Gumgami



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Exorcisms, Ghosts, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23879089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gumgami/pseuds/Gumgami
Summary: Riku likes a lot of things, but Halloween and the days leading up to that day is definitely not one of them.How will Idolish7 react to the reason and a secret as the end of the month comes closer? Will this reveal to them why their usually cheerful and naive centre is acting odd?
Comments: 93
Kudos: 159





	1. A Dream or A Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer:The characters belong to their respective owner.
> 
> This is my first time writing a fanfiction.
> 
> Bold words- POV/Place  
> Italic words- Memory/Dream  
> 'Italic' words- Thoughts  
> CAPITAL words- Shouted/Exclaimed

**A dream:**

_A redhead was being held back by another boy to stop him from jumping off the roof._

_“Riku!”, called out the pale pink haired boy, gritting his teeth with effort ,”Don’t do it”._

_Suddenly the redhead turned and hit the pale pink haired boy. The hit was so painful for the pale pink haired boy in many ways that you see start of tears in that boy’s eyes. Then suddenly the boy was frozen in fear looking at his brother’s eyes._

* * *

Riku woke up with a gasp and started to cough violently. It seems that dream/nightmare managed to trigger an attack as he was already feeling a little under the weather that day. Riku shakily reached for his inhaler and tried to calm himself down.

Then the door opened and Iori came in with a cup of honey milk. He gave it to Riku after he calmed down. Riku felt a bit better after he took a sip of that warm drink.

“Thanks, Iori. Sorry for disturbing you even though tomorrow is a school day. I’m fine, you can go back to sleep”, said Riku, noticing the worry on the younger male’s face.

“It is fine, Nanase-san. Are you sure that you will be fine?”, asked Iori with a concerned look. He could see that the redhead looked a bit shaken for some reason.

“Hai”, Riku assured Iori with a smile. Even after the redhead centre’s assurance, the raven head stayed for some time in the redhead’s room before he deemed it okay to return back to his own room.

“Haa”, Riku gave a sigh after Iori left.”That memory again”.

Riku sunk back into his bed with his face on his pillow and murmured, “Tenn-nii looked terrified. I wonder what he saw on my face at that time”. Then Riku felt that he won’t be able to sleep anyway after that bad dream, so he decided to switch on his bedside lamp and read some book.

Riku put on glasses and reached for a book on his bookshelf. Then he felt something. A cold presence. He glanced to the side and noticed a dark silhouette on the corner of his room. He closed his book and decided that it is going to be a long night.

* * *

**The Next Morning:**

The morning was as any other week day morning in the Idolish7 dorm. Mitsuki was making breakfast and also scolding Yamato for bringing his drama scripts to the dining table while Sougo was fussing over Tamaki. Nagi and Riku were both still asleep in their rooms. Iori was eating his breakfast quietly.

Iori got up and slung his bag over his shoulder. He was about to leave when Mitsuki and Sougo called out to him.

“Iori, take your lunch bento with you”, said Mitsuki, handing him his bento.

“Iori-kun, please take Tamaki-kun with you too”, requested Sougo and turned towards Tamaki and frantically said, “Tamaki-kun, keep your pudding aside and please finish your breakfast. You are going to be late for school”.

“But, Sou-channnn”, whined Tamaki in his half-awake state.

“I’ll only wait for 5 minutes”, interrupted Iori.

“There is no use whining now, Tama. If you eat your breakfast now, Onii-san will give you another pudding”, said Yamato.

“Don’t spoil him, Yamato-san”, said Sougo in sync with Mitsuki, who shouted, “Don’t spoil him, old man”.

Tamaki, who heard what Yamato said, started to eat his breakfast quite fast at the thought of getting a free king pudding while the others sweat dropped at his reaction.

After the two students left to school with their bento in hand, it became relatively silent than before. Yamato, who didn’t listen to Mitsuki advise of keeping his drama script away from the dining table got hit on the head by the rolled version of that said script, courtesy of Mitsuki.

While Sougo was attempting to maintain the peace, he noticed a red eyed zombie version of Nagi enter the room.

“Nagi-kun, are you okay? Did something happen?”, asked a concerned Sougo.

“Did you stay up watching MagiCona all night, Nagi?”, asked Mitsuki.

“I was watching the new season of MagiCona and it was so emotional. But, OH NO, suddenly my CD player sizzled and smoke started to come out of. I couldn’t watch my favourite Magical Kokona and it was so traumatizing that I wasn’t able to sleep”, cried out Nagi dramatically.

“Don’t worry, Nagi. I’ll go with you to buy a new CD player. We all have this morning free after all”, said Mitsuki.

“OH Mitsuki. You are the best!”, shouted Nagi with sparkles in his eyes, suddenly all his zombie-like appearance becoming lighter, and hugged Mitsuki tightly.

Then everyone in the dining room heard a yawn and turned their head towards the door to see Riku with bags under his eyes and trying to stifle another yawn with his hand. He looked in quite a terrible state. The cold season of October didn’t do him any good, it seems.

Riku, unaware of everyone’s concerned looks, just strode tiredly to the dining table and sat down. He greeted everyone with a supposedly cheerful look on his face. Then Sougo asked Riku whether he is alright, with concern laced in his voice. They all had heard about Riku’s asthma attack from Iori in the morning.

“Hai, I’m alright Sougo-san”, replied Riku as cheerfully as he can even though he felt a bit uncomfortable to look at Sougo. Looking at Sougo always reminded him of his brother and he didn’t want to think about his brother after his dream(?) the before night.

Nobody seems to believe Riku as he looks a bit pale and definitely not in good condition. So, his words of reassurance fell on deaf ears.

Mitsuki prepared Riku’s favourite omurice for breakfast and gave it to Riku, which he accepted with a happy smile. Mitsuki then said to Riku in a brotherly way, “You can tell us anything. But you don’t have to force yourself. Working hard is fine but take care of your health too, Riku”.

“Hai, I understand. I know that Mitsuki. I just had a bad dream last night. I’ll feel better with some rest then I’ll be able to go to work in the evening”, said Riku tiredly.

“Are you sure you don’t need to rest for the whole day, Riku-kun?” asked Sougo worriedly.

“I’ll be fine, Sougo-san”, said Riku.

 _‘It is just going to be like that for this month. I can get through this. I always do’_ thought Riku determinedly.


	2. The Job Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day goes on as every normal day for Idolish7. But that changes for a bit when the idols are faced with a rather unusual job offer.

After finishing breakfast, Sougo was cleaning the dorms and Yamato was reading the scripts of a drama while Nagi dragged Mitsuki to go for shopping the moment Mitsuki got free. Riku was taking a nap in his room after the insistence of the adults.

* * *

**Near lunchtime:**

Mitsuki returned back from shopping with Nagi and both of them had a lot of MagiCona merchandise along with the new CD player on their hands. It seems Nagi’s previous CD player couldn’t be saved. Both Mitsuki and Sougo started to cook lunch. Mitsuki was doing his best to save the lunch from the danger, that is Sougo’s tabasco sauce.

When lunch was nearly finished, Yamato was sent off to fetch Riku from his room. Yamato knocked on Riku’s door and called, “Riku. Onii-san came to fetch you for lunch”.

“Ah, Yamato-san. Coming”, replied Riku. He took off his glasses and hid the book he was reading, which had some circles with strange designs as cover, in the innermost place in his bookshelf. No one could easily find the book with the huge amount of books that Riku already has in that bookshelf.

“Now, go ahead and eat”, said Mitsuki after setting up the table with Sougo.

Sougo looked towards Riku as everyone sat down for lunch. After seeing that Riku seemed a lot better after his nap, Sougo felt relieved.

“Thanks for the food” the idols said and started to eat.

“This food tastes delicious” complimented Riku. The other two, Yamato and Nagi, also agreed with Riku.

Everyone ate their food and Mitsuki, Yamato, Nagi and Riku wisely avoided some of the food that looked too red than they are supposed to.

After lunch, both Sougo and Riku left for the shooting of an advertisement for a cologne brand while the Pythagoras trio went to participate in a variety show they were invited to. Both Iori and Tamaki don’t have any work that day because the manager wanted to give both the school students some rest.

* * *

**Night time:**

After everyone were done for the day, their manager called the idols for a meeting in their dorms. Once everyone were seated, their manager Tsumugi started to talk after a nod from Banri.

“Guys, we have new for you guys regarding Halloween”, said Tsumugi.

“Halloween?”, idolish7 chorused.

Nagi then exclaimed excitedly “WOW. This is so exciting. I’ve heard so much about Halloween in Japan. We can do a lot of stuff. Carve pumpkins, give candy-“.

“NAGI! Let manager finish first”, said Mitsuki, interrupting Nagi.

“I’m sorry for interrupting. It was rude of me to interrupt you, mademoiselle” apologised Nagi with a gentleman bow.

On the other hand, Tsumugi who was looking frantically from a scared Tamaki to an unusually blank faced Riku, seemed to snap back to the topic at hand after Nagi’s apology.

“Everyone, listen here”, called Tsumugi and said,” We have got a job offer with Trigger on the night of Halloween”.

“With Tenn-nii?”, asked Riku, tilting his head to the side cutely.

_‘Cute’_ thought Iori. _‘ No. That is not the point here. Something is strange here’._

Everyone, especially Iori, noticed that Riku lacked the usual energy and enthusiasm that he shows at the mention of a job offer with his brother. Riku would usually be beaming at the mention of his brother. They wondered whether the twins had a fight again.

“Yeah Riku-kun”, replied Tsumugi.

“So, the job offer is?”, asked Yamato, reminding Tsumugi where she left off.

“Oh right. The job is about visiting a house that is said to be haunted”, said Tsumugi.

“No no. I won’t do it no matter how many puddings you give me”, shouted Tamaki. The poor kid was shivering in fear just at the thought of a haunted house.

“Tamaki-kun”, said Sougo. Sougo was trying his best to calm down Tamaki.

“Manager. Isn’t that kind of dangerous?”, asked Yamato.

“Considering that there is no such thing as ghosts, it is fine. But it is still a bit concerning, Manager”, said Iori.

“Well, the crew already checked out the house and they would also be placing cameras all over the place in that house. So, it seems safe”, Banri informed them.

“Does it have to be during the Halloween night, Banri-san?”, asked Riku, who looked quite uncomfortable.

“Yeah. It seems they want it to be live on Halloween night. They thought that it would be great enhancer for the Halloween spirit.” Said Banri.

“Are you okay, Riku-kun?”, asked a concerned Tsumugi.

“Yeah, I am, Manager. Why are you asking me that?”, asked Riku, looking confused.

“It is just that….”, trailed off Tsumugi.

“You are usually excited when you get to work with Kujou-san or when there is any event like this, Nanase-san”, stated Iori.

“That is because”, hesitated Riku, ”I just don’t like going out on Halloween night”, he admitted.

“Are you scared of ghosts that don’t even exist, Nanase-san?”, mocked Iori.

“Ghosts really do exist, Iori!”, exclaimed Riku.

“Well, if they do exist, I haven’t heard of anyone seeing one. We’re idols, Nanase-san. We should be professional with our job and not let personal dislikes get in the way”, lectured Iori.

Everyone listening to this conversation got confused as to how the conversation turned from Iori being concerned about Riku to Iori lecturing Riku about professionalism of idols. The adults were going to interrupt the Fly away duo’s conversation when Riku suddenly exclaimed with a huff, “Fine. I’ll do it”.

On the other hand, Tamaki is still shaking his head and refusing the offer. Tamaki finally accepted the offer under two conditions. First condition is that he should get a lot of King pudding for this job. Second condition is that Sougo should be next to him during their time in that haunted house, because according to him, Sougo is much scarier than a ghost.

* * *

**Later During the night:**

Iori was seated in the couch in the living room of the Idolish7 dorm. He looked like he was in a deep thought. Then, he got startled by a hand tapping his shoulder. He turned around to see his brother, Mitsuki.

“Nii-san! You startled me for a second”, said Iori with a relieved sigh that it was just his brother.

“Sorry, Iori”, said Mitsuki.” You seemed to be in a deep thought”, noted Mitsuki.

“Ah, it’s nothing”, said Iori, breaking his eye contact with his brother and looking away.

“Is Riku mad at you after that fight?” asked Mitsuki. He noticed that Riku totally ignored Iori after that meeting and even during dinner.

“Nanase-san is acting childish by trying to ignore me completely” stated Iori and he sighed, “Though I must admit that I went a bit out of line today. He looked really unsettled at the job”.

“Then talk and apologise to him”, advised Mitsuki and added,” Without adding any insults”.

“I’ll try, Nii-san”, said Iori with no promises.

“I’m going to make some tea. Have some tea and cookies with me” said Mitsuki with a brotherly smile and ruffling Iori’s hair.

“Nii-san, I’m not a kid”, protested Iori against the ruffling while blushing slightly, but still agreed to have the midnight snack of tea and cookies with his brother.

* * *

**At the same time:**

**In Riku’s room:**

“No one has seen any ghosts huh?”, said Riku, staring at the same book he was looking through earlier that day. He then sighed and leaned his head against the book _. “I really messed up this time. Accepting a job like that”_ was his last thought as he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this story.


	3. The Sleepy Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idolish7 accepts the job offer and the following day starts with the Fly Away duo being tense with each other. Then the ride to go participate in Trigger's show starts. What is their centre hiding from them recently...?

**In Idolish7's dorm:**

The next morning arrived and the atmosphere between Riku and Iori seemed pretty tense. Everyone seated in the dining table can see it. It seems Iori didn’t apologise or more like he didn’t get the chance to apologise yet. Otherwise, Idolish7’s weekend morning went on as usual with Sougo scolding Tamaki for eating pudding before breakfast and everyone devouring the delicious meal made by Mitsuki.

After breakfast, the idols went to their rooms to prepare to leave for work because some of them came to dining table right after getting up from bed (and brushing their teeth, of course). Iori noticed that Riku is taking longer than usual to get ready. So, Iori went towards Riku’s room door. He knocked the door and called out, “Nanase-san, hurry up. We have to get going to the studio”. Iori can hear Riku shout, “Yes. I’m coming now” from inside the room.

On the side, Riku is frantically trying to reapply makeup carefully under his eyes to hide the eye bags under his eyes. The makeup he wore earlier had washed away when he took a bath after breakfast to freshen up. Riku had not been getting much sleep since the month had started. The reason is that Riku is sometimes busy with his ‘other’ work during the night and even when he gets time to sleep, he gets nightmares at most times. Of course, he keeps this a secret from the other members in his group.

Riku got out of the room, makeup perfectly covering his eye bags. He got out of his room and saw Iori waiting outside his room. Iori lectured Riku to be more punctual and that only made Riku’s mood worse. Riku just huffed in annoyance and followed Iori.

* * *

**Inside the vehicle:**

After all the Idolish7 members were ready and seated, Tsumugi started the vehicle. The Idolish7 members were currently on their way to a recording with Trigger as they were invited to be guests in Trigger’s regular show.

“Manager. Can we announce about the Halloween live recording in this show?” asked Mitsuki curiously.

“I don’t know for sure. I’ll ask Anesagi-san about it.” replied Tsumugi.

“I see. I thought it would be a good way to announce about it to the fans since both Idolish7 and Trigger would be there in this show” said Mitsuki.

“I see what you’re getting at there, Mitsu. It does sound like a good way to introduce it” said Yamato, agreeing with Mitsuki.

Iori also agrees with them. Then suddenly, Iori felt a light weight fall on his shoulder. He was surprised and turned to his right to see Riku sleeping on his shoulder.

“Wah- What? Nanase-san?” said Iori. “This is not the time to be sleeping” said Iori, who regained his posture after the initial surprise had worn off. Iori just sighed and his eyes softened at the sight of the redhead sleeping peacefully and cutely on his shoulder. Then Iori suddenly noticed that the redhead seemed tired. He wondered whether the redhead is working extra hard again and overexerting his body.

The members were conversing among themselves, while Iori was silent and in deep thought about Riku and also thinking of ways to improve Idolish7’s opportunities.

From MEZZO’ side, you can hear Sougo and Tamaki arguing. Tamaki and Iori have a Japanese test the next week and Sougo is trying to find ways to convince Tamaki to start studying in advance so that he can do well.

“Tamaki-kun. I will help you with preparing for the test” said Sougo.

“No way, Sou-chan. You took my pudding away from me during breakfast. So, I will not.” said Tamaki.

“But that is because it is not healthy to eat pudding before breakfast in the morning” said Sougo.

“Then I already completed my breakfast, so give me back my pudding, Sou-chan” said Tamaki.

“But you already ate another pudding from the fridge after breakfast. I will only give the pudding I took from you after Trigger’s show” said Sougo firmly, not willing to back down. _‘This is for your own good, Tamaki-kun’_ thought Sougo.

“Rikkun is much nicer. He doesn’t keep my pudding away from me. Ah, I just remembered. Rikkun is really good with Japanese literature. Maybe I’ll ask him to teach me” said Tamaki and he called out, “Rikkun, can yo-?”

But Tamaki was cut off by a “Shh” from Iori. Iori had his left lifted in the silence gesture. He then pointed to Riku, who was still sleeping despite all the commotion around him.

Both Tamaki and Sougo looked at Riku concerned because Riku does not usually fall asleep on the way to their first job in the morning. He would be excited, especially when work with Trigger and Riku gets to see his beloved Tenn-nii.

“Is he alright?” asked Sougo, with his worried mother tone.

“I don’t think so. It looks like Nanase-san didn’t have a good sleep last night” replied Iori.

“But how is that possible, Iorin? Rikkun doesn’t those dark circle things that always appear under the eyes when you don’t sleep well. Nagicchi always gets those when he stays up all night watching MagiCona” said Tamaki, observing Riku’s face.

“I don’t think everyone always gets eye bags when they don’t have a good sleep, Tamaki-kun” said Sougo, though he also found it a bit strange.

Suddenly Tamaki exclaimed ,” Rikkun is crying!”

This caught the attention of every members and even their manager. Everyone turned towards Riku to see that he teardrops were falling from his eyes while he was still sleeping on Iori’s shoulder.

“Maybe we should wake him up. He looks like he is having a bad dream.” said Yamato.

“Of course he is having a bad dream, Ossan. But that does not mean we should wake him up. It’ll startle him” snapped Mitsuki at Yamato.

“Now, what should we do?” said Tsumugi, who had parked briefly on the side of a road to deal with the situation.

“We should leave him to rest like this for now. He stopped crying” said Iori.

Though the other members were a little uncomfortable at the idea, they thought it was better to leave their centre to sleep the rest of the way. So, Tsumugi started the van again after feeling that it was fine to continue to go to their destination.

After the vehicle started moving, Sougo moved to sit near Riku. He gently brushed away the remaining tears on Riku’s face and he noticed something. He noticed the slightly faded makeup on Riku’s face. Sougo gasped upon seeing something. Iori, who heard Sougo’s gasp turned to look at Riku’s face and his eyes widened seeing the heavy eye bags under Riku’s eyes. It seems like Riku didn’t sleep well for many days.

Before Iori or Sougo can think too much into what they found out, the vehicle stopped and Tsumugi got out. It seems they have reached their destination. The other members also started to get out, leaving the three inside the vehicle.

Sougo and Iori looked at each other and reluctantly started to shake Riku slightly in an attempt to wake him up. Riku suddenly woke up and hit his head against Sougo’s head with force. Both Sougo and Riku were clutching their head in pain.

Iori sighed and face palmed, “Nanase-san…”.

“Ouch. That hurts” said Riku, clutching his head. Then he suddenly he noticed that Sougo was also doing. The redhead got what happened after his head cleared up from its sleepy state.

“I’m sorry, Sougo-san. I’m really sorry. Are you fine?” asked Riku frantically.

“I’m fine, Riku-kun” said Sougo after putting on a smile on his face. “More importantly, are you fine? Does your head hurt too much?” asked Sougo, concern filling his voice because Riku was still clutching his head slightly in pain.

“It is fine, Sougo-san. Just a little headache I had since this morning” said Riku.

“Is it because you didn’t sleep well, Nanase-san?” said Iori, showing Riku a mirror.

Riku seemed confused as to how Iori found out, until he looked at the mirror and saw the eye bags under his eyes in plain view. “Wha- How did it go away?” a startled Riku asked and he was referring to the makeup that was supposed to hide the eye bags.

“Nanase-san. You really should get some sleep” said Iori.

“Please don’t tell this to the others. I don’t want to worry the others with this?” asked Riku, his eyes pleading and looking at Iori and Sougo.

Iori didn’t give in. He said,” The last time you asked me to keep your health condition a secret, you pushed yourself too much and ended in a hospital, Nanase-san. I’m not going to keep this a secret”.

But it seems Sougo gave in to Riku’s pleading eyes.”Iori-kun. Maybe just this once we’ll keep it a secret,” he said. Iori was going to protest, but Sougo added, ”We’ll both keep an eye on Riku-kun. And also”. He turned towards Riku and said with a smiling face and really scary aura around him,” Riku-kun. You should take some rest after we reach our dorms. I’ll make sure that you do it. Understood?”.

Riku suddenly felt a chill go up his spine and he nodded his quickly. Sometimes, Riku feels like Tamaki is definitely right in saying that Sougo is more scary than some of the ghosts. Iori was reluctant but agreed at last seeing that Sougo got his point across to Riku.

“Ichi, Sougo. How long is it going to take you guys to wake up Riku?” their leader called out from outside the vehicle.

“We’re coming now, Yamato-san” said Sougo and the three finally got out of the vehicle after Sougo helped Riku to reapply the makeup under his eyes. Now, the Idolish7 members got ready to participate in Trigger’s show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this story.
> 
> I'm really sorry if I have not been regular. I'm doing my best to post the chapters regularly. And finally Trigger's time to enter will come in the next chapter.


	4. The Feeling and The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The idols finally reached the studio. Riku suddenly gets a really bad feeling. And it seems Tenn is starting to get a bit suspicious too. What is really going on...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the update. Thanks for reading my story.
> 
> Bold words - Point of view/Place/Time  
> 'Italics' - Thoughts/Other end of phone call

Idolish7 were heading to their dressing room to get ready. Iori and Sougo, as they decided earlier, were keeping an eye on Riku. They both were really concerned that Riku might be pushing himself too much again and might get an attack. Because these two were keeping a close eye on Riku, they were the first to notice it when Riku let out a small sound of pain.

“Ack” said Riku, clutching his head suddenly. _’This feeling. It can’t be’_ Riku thought, his eyes widening in realization.

On the other hand, Iori and Sougo thought that Riku was getting headache due to lack of sleep. Mitsuki turned around and asked Riku whether he is alright.

“I’m fine, Mitsuki. It is just a slight headache” said Riku, rubbing his head slightly to prove his point.

After the idols reached their dressing room, Riku excused himself to go use the restroom while the others were changing into their work clothes. Riku quickly hurried to the restroom. The redhead opened a stall and went inside. Then he took out a talisman with some red markings from the pocket in his pant. Riku always had this talisman with him and so far none of the Idolidh7 members have discovered it.

Riku took a look at the talisman and closed his eyes in concentration. Then he suddenly started to chant something in a soft voice. A soft glow of red aura suddenly surrounded Riku and the aura vanished into thin air as soon as Riku finished his chant. Riku opened his eyes and kept the talisman back in his pocket safely. Somehow, his energy felt more drained than earlier.

Riku exited the stall and went to wash his hands. Then he noticed Gaku, who was also washing his hands. They both greeted each other and exited the restroom.

“See you at the studio” said Riku and was about to return to the dressing room. But he was interrupted by Gaku. “Nanase, wait a minute. I want to ask you about something” said Gaku.

“What is it, Yaotome-san?” Riku asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“I heard some kind of chanting like someone was doing a ritual or something. It sounded like your voice. What were you doing?” asked Gaku bluntly.

“Ahh, it was…” trailed off Riku, wreaking his brain to think up of something. “It is a kind of chant my aunt taught me. She said it helps with my nervousness” said Riku finally.

“Nervousness huh?” asked Gaku, a bit of curiosity in his voice.

“Yeah. I haven’t seen Tenn-nii in person in a while. I’m feeling so excited and nervous. So, I thought saying that might calm me down” said Riku, with a sheepish look on his face.

Gaku’s eyes softened a bit in understanding. He then let go of the topic and said “See you at the studio”. Then he turned around and left.

Riku turned to the opposite direction to where Gaku went. He started walking, when suddenly he noticed Iori calling out his name and running towards him. Iori stopped in front of him and calmed himself down, before turning towards Riku and asking “Where were you, Nanase-san?”

“I’m on my way from restroom. I informed you before I left right, Iori?” asked Riku.

“You were gone for so long and you weren’t feeling well earlier. We were worried you had an attack. You didn’t even take your inhaler with you” said Iori, voicing all of his concerns, “Anyway, I’ll inform the others that I’ve found you” said Iori, taking out his phone and texting the other members through RabbitChat.

Riku now felt really bad for making the others worry. “I’m really sorry, Iori. I met Yaotome-san on the way back and I didn’t notice the time while I was talking to him”. Riku only told Iori half the truth though. The chanting Riku had to say was what took most of the time. But he knew it had to be done immediately, for everyone’s safety.

Iori sighed and lectured Riku on his recklessness, on their way back. Though Riku understood that Iori had been worried, Riku still pouted a little in annoyance at Iori’s scolding. Riku was pretty sure he can say some of Iori’s lectures word by word at this point. That is because Riku is the one who is usually at the receiving end of Iori’s lectures.

Soon, both of them reached their dressing room. But before they could enter, Iori reached into his pocket and took out a tablet, giving it to Riku. “If you are still having a headache, take this painkiller, Nanase-san. But you have to rest later.” Said Iori, adding the last part sternly.

“Thank you, Iori” said Riku, accepting the tablet with a grateful look on his face. Then they both headed inside. The members were worried about Riku, but he told them that he was fine and that he just lost track of time while speaking to Gaku. Then Riku hurriedly got ready. Soon, Tsumugi came in and said that it was time. On their way there, Tsumugi informed them that they can tell the audience about the upcoming Halloween shoot in their recording.

They all met with Trigger and the staff and after part of the recording was finished, they were taking a break. Then Tenn approached Gaku and asked him, “I saw you with Riku earlier, Gaku. What were you talking to him about?”. Tenn had seen Gaku conversing with Riku. Tenn had some of brother intuition to just listen from a distance and observe his brother. He didn’t hear what they were talking about but he could see that his brother’s expression was uncomfortable first and then soon turned to a sort of nostalgic expression as though he was thinking of an old memory he was fond of.

“We were just talking about chants and rituals” said Gaku, not finding the topic weird at all.

Ryuu, who was standing beside them thought, _‘Chants and rituals? Are you guys planning to join some kind of cult?’_ These concerned thoughts were running through Ryuu’s head. But he didn’t voice these thoughts because he didn’t want any alarm to go off in the overprotective brother’s head. But instead he said, “About rituals? Sounds interesting”.

But as Tenn is much sharper, he quickly caught on it and leveled Gaku with a sharp look and asked, “Gaku. Can you elaborate?”

“I’m not going to say. It seemed pretty personal to Nanase, after all” said Gaku, after some thought.

“I’m his brother” said Tenn, feeling offended.

“Yeah. A brother who didn’t reply to his texts for days. Now I’m starting to feel bad for Nanase” said Gaku. What Gaku said was true though. Tenn rarely replies Riku’s texts. But recently, Tenn noticed to Riku sent lesser messages than usual.

Well, after seeing that he couldn’t get any details from Gaku for now, Tenn decided to give up for the moment because they still have to work. He shouldn’t let his personal issues to affect his work because he is a professional. But he will make sure that he Gaku will tell him because it is about his brother.

On Idolish7’s side, Riku feels like collapsing because his body feels so out of energy. But Riku didn’t want to give up because he’s been through worse and also he didn’t want to worry his brother or get said by his brother that he is not fit to be an idol again. When after the break it was Idolish7’s turn to record song, the other Idolish7 members noticed his tiredness and decided to cover for Riku a little during his dance performance. He also managed to pull it off, but he would not call that his best performance.

* * *

After the recordings were finished, the idols left to their dressing room to get changed for their next job. Riku and Iori had no other jobs for the day but the other members were busy with jobs. Just as most of them were finished dressing, someone knocked on their door.

Tamaki, who had finished changing clothes, opened the door on Sougo’s kind request. He opened the door and announced “It’s Tenten”.

“Yotsuba Tamaki. Is Riku there?” asked Tenn after acknowledging Tamaki.

“Rikkun? Yes, he is” answered Tamaki, not noticing Iori frantic gestures ‘to not tell Tenn that Riku is here’ from the other side of the room. He sighed in defeat. Riku usually gets a lot depressed after he is scolded by his brother or if he fights with his brother.

Tenn entered the room and Riku, noticing his brother brightened up a bit and called out, “Tenn-nii” happily, though he had a feeling Tenn was there not for pleasant meeting but to scold him.

“Do not call me that. Call me Kujou-san. We are still in work place Riku” said Tenn strictly and then continued “Do not call what you did today as a performance, Riku”.

Before Tenn could scold Riku more on also overexerting himself, Iori decided to interrupt Tenn because he really just want to drag Riku to the dorms after getting changed, so that Riku could get more rest. Tenn was bit annoyed, but he also noticed Riku’s tiredness and was thinking of letting him off hook.

But then Riku’s phone rang and he excused himself to answer the call. Not noticing the glaring contest that Iori and Tenn were having currently having behind his back, for whatever reason.

“Hello” answered Riku, after picking up the call.

 _‘Hello, Riku. I’m waiting in the Sakura Café. Get here now’_ said the person on the other end and hung up.

 _‘Now?!’_ thought Riku.

“Ah, Tenn-nii! I need to go somewhere, so scold me later” said Riku and picking up his bag.

“Wait, Riku. I’m not done yet” said Tenn.

“Nanase-san, you need to get to dorms and rest” said Iori.

“And do not run!” both of them said in unison.

“I’m just meeting with a friend and I promise I will come back by lunch, Iori. And see you later, Tenn-nii” said Riku, exiting the dressing room.

Tenn stared at the door for a moment and then excused himself from Idolish7’s dressing room, saying that he should be leaving.

* * *

**Outside the Studio:**

Tenn exited the studio and was about to head back to the apartment that he stayed in. Gaku and Ryuu both had other jobs, while he had a rare afternoon off.

He started walking, armed with his disguise, while he suddenly noticed a redhead from the corner of his eyes. Even though the redhead was wearing red colour glasses and a mask, he would recognize his own brother anywhere.

It seems the redhead was searching for some place using the GPS. He had a look of concentration on his face and suddenly his face lit up ,”Oh, so that’s where it is”.

Then Riku started walking. Tenn decided to follow his brother. Tenn followed him for quite some distance and thought _‘Is it really okay for Riku to walk so much now’_.

Tenn noticed Riku suddenly walking into some alleyway and he also followed behind Riku quietly. Tenn entered the alleyway, only to find that his brother was suddenly missing.


	5. The Meeting and The Drink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Riku meets with someone, the adults decide to keep an eye on Riku's health. Also it seems Tenn is starting to suspect something. Where will this all end?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay. I managed to write a chapter sooner than usual and I couldn't wait to post it.
> 
> Thanks for reading my story.
> 
> BOLD WORDS - Place/Time /POV  
> 'Italics' words - Thoughts

Inside of the Sakura Café, it is more warm and comfortable in contrast to the biting cold outside. The walls are painted with Sakura trees and the petals flowing, to emphasize the theme. The furniture looks like they are made of the Sakura tree’s wood. The elegant and calm atmosphere of the café is what draws the people in.

Right at the moment, there seems to not be much crowd inside the café. In a more secluded part of the café, there sat a white haired man. The white haired man had lime green coloured eyes and he had a plain black choker wrapped around his neck. He was wearing white colour shirt and light blue coloured jacket over it. He was currently sipping some tea and looking like he was waiting for someone. He placed the cup on the table gently after finishing his cup of tea.

Noticing that he finished his cup of tea, a waiter came over to his table and, “Shimotsuki-san. Would you like me to bring another cup of tea?”

The white haired man smiled at the waiter and said, “That would be great”. The waiter turned around to leave with the order in hand, when Shimotsuki called her again, “Wait a minute. I would like to place another order. One warm milk with honey. Ask Kimura-san to make it special. It is for a guest who be arriving anytime now” said Shimotsuki. _‘He would definitely be needing it’_ was the thought going through his head.

The waiter took the order and went to give it to the owner and the chef in-charge, Kimura-san.

 _‘He is here’_ thought Shimotsuki and as soon as he thought that the door of the Café opened and a red haired teen wearing a face mask and red colour glasses. The teen’s eyes scanned the café as he walked in tiredly. The teen’s eyes met with his and Shimotsuki waved to him. The teen walked over to his table and sat down opposite to him, panting slightly from hurrying over to the café.

“Hey there, Riku. It has been a while” said Shimotsuki after Riku has calmed down.

“It is good to see you too, Shun-san” said Riku with a smile.

The waiter at that moment returned with both orders in his hands. “Shimotsuki-san. Here, your cup of tea” he said placing the cup in front of Shimotsuki Shun. Then the waiter turned and placed another cup in front of Riku saying, “And here is the special warm milk with honey. Enjoy your drinks”. Then the waiter left.

“What does he mean by special?” asked Riku while looking at the drink.

“Now now. Take a sip and you will know, Riku” said Shun, already taking a sip of his own cup of tea.

Riku decided to pick up the cup and take a sip. He felt warmth fill his body and also he felt a lot better than earlier, energywise. His eyes widened in surprise, “This is…”.

“Filled with the special ingredient from Kimura-san” finished Shun.

“I see. So Kimura-san is here huh. She always did want to take a rest from the main forces and open her own café” said Riku, with a faraway look on his face, like he is thinking of a fragment of memory from his past.

After drinking the refreshing drink, Riku felt a lot less like he wanted to collapse and sleep through the whole day. But he still felt tired because the drink only helped in regenerating his spiritual energy mostly.

“Shun-san, who got hurt?” Riku asked, finally deciding to get to the point. Riku observed that both during the phone call and also during their talk Shun’s usual teasing and carefree attitude was missing. This is not a good sign.

“Straight to the point, I see. Well, I see no point in trying to hide it” Shun sighed and said, “It is Azure who got hurt and is going through surgery now”.

 _‘The Azure exorcist? No way. Then…’_ Riku’s thought trailed off and he asked, “He will recover right? Before Halloween”

“Well, I wonder”, replied Shun and it was definitely not reassuring to Riku at all.

* * *

**Idolish7’s dorm:**

It was about lunch time when Riku returned to the dorm and entered using his spare key. Riku was dead tired at this point and was heading to his room. As refreshing as the drink from Kimura-san was, he still had to rest for the full effect to take place. But before he could reach his destination, he got called by Iori, who noticed him pass by. Iori decided to spare Riku from his lecture this time because he had a feeling that whatever he says at the moment would fall in deaf ears.

“Nanase-san, as much I think that it is good that you are heading straight to bed after returning, eat your lunch before that” said Iori. He started to pull Riku in the direction of the kitchen.

As soon as both Iori and Riku entered the kitchen, they were both assaulted by the aroma of delicious food being prepared by Mitsuki.

Mitsuki turned towards them and said, “Ah, Riku returned, I see. Just in time. Wait for a few minutes you two. Lunch will be ready soon”. After saying that, Mitsuki turned back to steering the pot of curry.

“Mitsuki. You’re back early” said Riku with a surprised look on his face.

“Oh right. My job finished earlier than expected and the next job is later today anyway. So I thought why not drop by to cook lunch” said Mitsuki.

Riku sat down on the dining table and let his head fall on the table. Iori decided to go to his room to arrange something.

Soon, the lunch was ready and Mitsuki turned and announced that lunch is ready loudly, out of habit. Iori heard it and started to pick up plates to help his brother place the curry and rice on the table. But before both of them could keep a single utensil on the table, they were both treated to the adorable sight of Riku sleeping on the table.

Mitsuki decided to take a picture of it and send it to the other members while Iori was blushing slightly while thinking _‘What a cute person’_.

Before Mitsuki could tease his brother, Iori decided to shake Riku to wake him up. But as soon as Iori touched Riku, Riku got startled out of his sleep and tackled Iori and sat on top of his stomach and two of his fingers pointed sharply to Iori’s neck, in his half-asleep state.

“Nanase-san!” “Riku!” shouted both Iori and Mitsuki at the same time, leading to Riku finally acknowledging what he was doing.

Riku got off Iori and started to profusely apologise.”I’m really sorry, Iori. I get like that sometimes when I fall asleep”.

Both Iori and Mitsuki were looking shocked at Riku first. But after hearing the explanation, Mitsuki decided to get rid of the tense atmosphere by reminding the fly away duo of the food. “Both of you help me arrange the food on the table. Let’s eat the curry while it’s hot”.

Both Iori and Riku got up and helped Mitsuki to arrange the food on the table. All of them them said “Thanks for the food” and started to eat.

“It is so delicious” said Riku with sparkles in his eyes. “Mitsuki’s food is the best”

“Nanase-san. Do not eat and speak at the same time. Jeez, did you pick up this habit from Yotsuba-san?” asked Iori, feeling mildly irritated.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Riku. But I’m glad that you like the food” said Mitsuki, with a smile on his face.

After that, lunch time went quietly. After everyone finished lunch, Riku went to his room to take a nap while Iori decided to catch up on his studies after helping Mitsuki with the dishes. Mitsuki headed off to his next job soon after. But before heading out, he opened Riku’s room door slightly and checked whether he sleeping before silently heading.

* * *

**Outside Idolish7 dorm:**

Mitsuki took out his phone and texted in the RabbitChat group that had only the older ones of the group about Riku’s current condition. After all, it is the older ones that has to take the responsibility to take care of the younger ones.

* * *

**In MEZZO’ side:**

Sougo and Tamaki were taking a lunch break at the moment. Sougo finished eating and was waiting for Tamaki. He opened his phone and saw the photo of Riku that Mitsuki sent to the other. Sougo smiled warmly at the photo and said, “Good thing he kept his promise and I didn’t have to resort to extreme measures like with Tamaki-kun”. Then he saw Tamaki flinch, from the corner of his eyes.

 _‘Did I just voice that thought out by mistake?’_ thought Sougo.

* * *

**In Trigger’s apartment:**

Tenn returned home after his search for Riku failed. Tenn feels like his instincts are telling him that something is wrong with his brother. Tenn decided on what his first step is going to be. Well, he is going to wait for Gaku’s return now. Tenn also has some torture *ahem* interrogation items ready just in case.


	6. The Dream Catcher and The Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku gets a sleep charm a concerned person. Who is it from and also how do the idols spend their weekend morning?

**In Idolish7’s dorm:**

**The Next Morning:**

Riku got up from his bed and started to stretch his arms. “That was the best sleep I had in a while. No nightmares” said Riku with contentment in his voice. _‘Haaaah. This the first time this month that I had been able to sleep in peace without any nightmares, asthma attacks or patrols….. Wait a second. I DIDN’T GO FOR PATROL YESTERDAY?’_ he thought in panic.

Then Riku went towards the bag that he was carrying around the before day and opened it in search for something. He found a dream catcher inside his bag which also had a sleep charm attached to it. Riku doesn’t really like sleep charms. They dulled his senses and made him go to sleep even if he didn’t want to.

He then noticed a note attached to it. The note was written in a really familiar handwriting and it says, ‘A bird wanted me to deliver this really charming dream catcher to you. Have sweet dreams~ ’. And on the bottom, it was written ‘From your beloved Shun-san’. Riku sighed and he wondered how Shun always managed to be so sneaky.

Even though the concern makes Riku feel really happy and also warms his heart, he also feels that it is not fair for him to take rest at a time like this. _‘I better find the person who sent this’_ thought Riku, glancing at the dream catcher. “First, before that I better go eat breakfast. I’m so hungry”. Riku then left the room and headed towards the kitchen.

In the dining table, Iori, Sougo and Yamato were seated and eating their breakfast while Mitsuki was baking some cookies. It’s a weekend and Idolish7 had their morning free off any work. So, because of the free morning Nagi and Tamaki are still sleeping.

“Good morning” Riku greeted everyone and sat on a chair and served himself some breakfast.

He noticed the others at the table staring at him. He nervously asked, “What is the matter?”

“Ah, sorry for staring”, said Sougo, feeling that it was rude to stare at someone. “I just thought that you look better today” added Sougo, with a kind of a relieved smile.

“Yeah. You look much well than yesterday. Did something good happen?” asked Mitsuki, who just returned with a batch of cookies on a tray, which he placed on the table for the other members to sample.

“I just had a good sleep” replied Riku, picking one of the chocolate chip cookies made by Mitsuki. He took a bite of the chocolate cookie and had a dreamy look on his face which was more than enough for Mitsuki to know that the cookies were a success.

“By the way, Yamato-san. You’re up earlier than usual. Are you going to drink in the morning again?” asked Riku curiously.

“He better not. Today we are participating in a game show with Re:vale” said Mitsuki.

“Why can’t we just refuse it? I don’t want to give that guy any more ideas to make fun of me” grumbled Yamato, not at all enthusiastic to meet a certain someone.

“Geez, you work with Yuki-san in dramas anyways. So, it is not much different. And should I remind you again that both Re:vale and Idolish7 were chosen as participants through fan vote in their official site” said Mitsuki.

“Whatever. Onii-san is just going to just read my drama scripts and spend my time with Musashi for now” said Yamato, getting up from his chair and leaving the area with the drama script in his hand.

Then Iori got up and excused himself saying he is going to do revision for his test on Monday.

Sougo asked, “Iori-kun, will you help Tamaki-kun to prepare after today’s work is finished?”.

“I will help Yotsuba-san to study like always, though I’m starting to wonder whether my teaching is really going through. The last time I helped him with homework, he got distracted and wrote some of our song’s lyrics instead of some answers” said Iori.

The other members couldn’t help but sweatdrop, hearing what Iori just said. Sougo had an apologetic expression on his face like a mother who is asking sorry for her child’s mischievious behavior.

“Isn’t that because he got annoyed at the homework and decided to throw a tantrum?” asked Mitsuki.

“Exactly my point” replied Iori.

“It is a Japanese test right? I will help you guys with studying. I love Japanese literature” offered Riku, wanting to do something to help the two high school students.

 _‘Well, Nanase-san is quite good when it comes to Japanese literature and I’m not in the mood to deal with Yotsuba-san alone. So…’_ Iori thought.

“…I’ll take you up on your offer, Nanase-san” said Iori, after a long pause and a bit of hesitation.

“What was with that long pause?” asked Riku.

“Nothing much. I just hope I don’t come to regret this” said Iori, thinking up of the possibilities of Riku ending up becoming a distraction to Tamaki.

“HEY!” protested Riku with an angry expression on his face and having his cheeks puffed, which Iori found cute in a way.

With this, Iori also left the dining table before his brother could tease him about the way he expresses his feelings towards people.

“We’re nearly out of ingredients. I’ll go for grocery shopping then” said Mitsuki, placing the dishes on the sink to be washed after he comes back.

“I’ll come with you too, Mitsuki-san. Tamaki-kun’s pudding stock is almost over too” said Sougo, thinking of how Tamaki will not cooperate and will even have a breakdown if he runs out of his precious Ousama pudding. He must admit that the other reason he has for going with Mitsuki is because Mitsuki has a really bad sense of direction, according to the other members of Pythagoras Trio.

“Riku, stay here and tell Nagi and Tamaki to just reheat their breakfast when they come. I don’t want to deal with a disastrous kitchen today” said Mitsuki, remembering some of the members’ attempt at cooking, which didn’t end well. _‘I don’t want anyone getting food poisoning like last time’_.

“Don’t worry. I’ll remind them, Mitsuki” said Riku, and waved bye to both the adults. “Take care”.

“Hmmm. I have nothing else to do now. Maybe I’ll meditate for a while” said Riku to himself and went to the living room. He decided to just sit on the floor and took a deep breath and letting it out, before starting his meditation.

After some time, Riku felt a presence and opened his eyes slowly. He called out, “Ah, Nagi. Good morning”.

“Good morning, Riku. You should join me in watching MagiCona sometime. The new season is amazing” said Nagi, with sparkling eyes but then his stomach grumbled and he deflated slightly. “Mitsuuuuki, I’m hungry” he said peeking into the kitchen and finding it empty.

Riku got up from his meditating position and went to the kitchen and said, “Mitsuki went out to buy groceries. He told you to reheat the breakfast, Nagi” said Riku.

Soon, after Nagi’s mourning for not being able to eat Mitsuki’s food when it is freashly cooked, both of them reheated the food. They were also joined by Tamaki, who started to eat spoonfuls of pudding, when waiting for his breakfast to be heated.

Nagi was currently fantasizing about Halloween in Japan and telling the both the other teens how wonderful it would be to celebrate it together. “So, what do you both think about it?” asked Nagi excitedly.

“I used to go trick-or-treat while wearing the second-hand clothes given at the orphanage. I even got to wear a werewolf costume once. I got lots of candies. But there are also really stingy people that don’t give candies to orphans” said Tamaki.

“We’ll get lots of candy, Tamaki” said Riku encouragingly.

“YEAH! We’ll have lots of fun together” said Nagi with an excited look on his face.

“Lots of candies. Then we will get lots of pudding too right?” said Tamaki, eyes sparkling at the thought. “What about you, Rikkun?” asked Tamaki suddenly.

“Hm? What about me?” asked Riku, tilting his head in confusion.

“Rikkun. How do you celebrate Halloween? Did you go for trick-or-treat?” asked Tamaki, more clearly this time.

“Hmm. I have never went for trick-or-treat” said Riku, with a smile. Noticing both of their shocked looks, Riku said “I wasn’t allowed to go out for trick-or-treat during Halloween because my parents thought it would be strenuous. I would usually be hospitalized during that time too. So it can’t be helped. Tenn-nii used to go trick-or-treat and give me half of the chocolates he gets all the time”.

“Riku. We’ll definitely celebrate Halloween this time” said Nagi, determinedly after tearing up at Riku’s backstory. “I already have mine and Mitsuki’s costume ready. We’ll go shopping for yours later”.

“Mikki’s costume too?” “Mitsuki’s costume too?” asked Tamaki and Riku at the same time in confusion.

“YES!” exclaimed Nagi. He stood up and ran towards his room. In a few minutes, he stood in front of Riku and Tamaki holding a dress that was Halloween themed.

“Nagicchi. Is that Magical Cocona’s Halloween themed costume?” asked Tamaki slowly, after eating a spoon of pudding.

“YES! You’re right, Tamaki. I can’t imagine someone better than Mitsuki to wear the Magical Cocona’s costume” said Nagi.

Suddenly both Riku and Tamaki froze, looking at something behind Nagi.

“You can’t find anyone better than me to wear it, huh?” said a voice behind Nagi. Nagi turned around to find Mitsuki with grocery bags in his bags standing there. Mitsuki had an irritated expression on his face with a vein popping on his forehead.

“So, that was what you were hiding from me during your last MagiCona merchandise shopping, huh, Nagi” said Mitsuki, slowly inching towards Nagi.

“It was a surprise for Mitsuki. You won’t throw it out right?” asked Nagi with a hopeful look.

“Of course, I WILL THROW THAT THING OUT!” said Mitsuki and started to chase after Nagi in the dorms, after placing the groceries on the dining table.

“Should we help Nagi?” asked Riku.

“….. I think it is better to just arrange the groceries for now, Riku-kun. Will you both help me?” said Sougo, looking at them.

“Yes, we will” said Riku, also dragging Tamaki with him to help with arranging the groceries.

* * *

**At Trigger’s Apartment:**

Kujou Tenn was seated on his bed and was in a deep thought. Getting the information out of Gaku wasn’t really much of a problem for Tenn. He just needed to look threatening at Gaku with a knife next to him that glinted in the light. Well, Tenn thinks he is totally justified in being pissed off at Gaku because not only did Gaku withhold information about his twin brother from him, Gaku also ‘accidentally’ ate Tenn’s donut. So, that adds to his crime.

At the end of it Gaku just understood that Tenn is more of a brocon than he thought. He also noted that he should keep any sharp items, especially knives, far from Tenn’s reach.

Now, going back to Tenn’s deep thought process. Tenn found what Gaku said a bit unbelievable. Because, he was pretty sure he would have known if his brother got interested in spirits or some weird chants. Riku was never really good at his hiding stuff from him. But then again, his brother was sneaky at times.

 _‘But out of all this, what I don’t understand is when did we get an aunt. Our parents cut off from all relatives and that is why we didn’t even have someone to turn to when they had financial problem. What happened after I left?”_ were the thoughts running through the white haired teen’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my story.
> 
> I'm really sorry if the update is late. I applied for some online programme and it ended up consuming a lot of my time than I thought.


	7. The Game Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Idolish7 members take part in a game show with Re:vale and it seems like Riku is not the only one among the idols who is acting a bit different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The update is finally here. Sorry for the wait.
> 
> 'Italics' words - Thoughts  
> Italics words - Dream/Flashback  
> Bold words - English  
> CAPITAL words - Shouting/Loud voice

_A red haired boy is seated in front of a table. The table was full of scrolls and books on it. He looked it with a nervous look and asked, “Should I read all of these?” while pointing at the items that lies in a messy manner at the table._

_“Yes, you should. You are starting quite late than the other kids that are preparing to be an exorcist after all. So, you should catch up” replied a woman, who just entered the room carrying some more studying materials in her hands. The woman’s hair was a deeper shade of red than the boy’s hair and she was wearing an elegant red kimono. She placed the studying materials on a nearby chair. “Or do you think this is too much to study, Riku?” she asked in a challenging tone, glancing towards Riku._

_“No. It is not too much at all. I will study each and every one of these, Aunt Mika” said the boy with bright eyes and a determined look on his eyes._

_“Hmm. Then, if you have any doubt, don’t hesitate to ask me” she said and got up to leave._

_“I will. And don’t forget our deal, Aunt Mika. If I managed to memorize them within the given time, you’ll train me to become an exorcist” said Riku, already opening one of the books to start studying._

_“I will” said the woman and she exited the room. She smiled softly while looking at the boy through a slight opening of the slide door. ‘What a stubborn nephew I have’ she thought._

* * *

**In the Idolish7 Dorm:**

**Inside Riku's Room:**

Iori was having quite a predicament at the moment. He was looking Riku, who was sleeping peacefully on his beanbag with a book on his lap. All the Idolish7 members should leave the dorm in a few minutes for their next job and Iori came to remind Riku to get ready. But now as much as Iori wanted to wake up Riku like he usually did, the memory of what happened the before day was still fresh in his mind. He definitely did not want to be attacked out of the blue again. So, he approached Riku a little cautiously.

Iori shook Riku with his hand and said, “Nanase-san. Nanase-san. Get up for our next job”. Riku opened his eyes and suddenly sat up. He yawned and said, “Huh. Did I fall asleep again?”. He then looked around his room with his eyes and spotted Iori. “Iori. What are you doing in my room?”. He paused slightly and asked, “What is that pose for?”

Iori, in his startled state went into a sort of defense position that looked a bit comical. Iori blushed slightly in embarrassment and stood straight. He fake coughed in his hand and said, “It is nothing. Forget what you saw”

“It is hard to forget that” said Riku, and his innocent expression started to give way to a more mischievous one.

Iori looked mortified and decided to distract Riku with the actual reason why he came, noticing the time. “Nanase-san, we have to leave for a job now. I came to just remind you but you were sleeping like a baby. Do not be late”, said Iori and exited the room and closed the door behind him.

“Late?” repeated Riku, his eyes trailing over to the clock in his room. “Wah. It is about time. I should get ready fast” exclaimed Riku, rushing to get ready. Iori, who was just standing outside, heard it and felt like face palming at the sounds of hurrying he hears from inside the room.

Riku now really feels like tearing that sleeping charm at this point. But he has an idea who sent this and didn’t want to do anything to it until meeting with that person.

* * *

**At the studio:**

The Idolish7 members arrived at the studio where the recording for the game show is going to take place. As usual, them being the juniors, they went to greet their seniors before the show. The Idolish7 members, after getting ready, were now standing outside Re:vale’s dressing room.

Yamato was about to knock the door when the door opened on its own. And an excited Momo suddenly pulled them all inside the room. “Darling, all our cute kouhais came to see us” he said with an energetic smile on his face and his body was just trembling with energy as though he didn’t want to stay put in a place. The Idolish7 members were not ready to be faced with a Momo who was even more energetic than usual.

“Momo, you’re overwhelming them” said Yuki, but he made no move to stop his hyped up partner. “Momo drank a lot of his momorin juice earlier. So, he is more hyped than usual” said Yuki explained calmly, though he is concerned a bit. Momo does drink his momorin juice a lot but not the huge amount that Yuki witnessed Momo drink earlier.

 **“OH!** Mister Momo is going to take part in the show like this. It will be interesting” said Nagi, already imagining how it would go.

“Of course not. We’re just waiting for Momo-kun to burn out the energy before that” said Okazaki Rinto, Re:vale’s manager. He could already feel his stomach start to feel bad. They all looked towards Momo who was speaking super fast with Mitsuki and it seems Mitsuki was somehow able to keep up with Momo’s words.

After some time passed, Tsumugi came by to call everyone over after the preparations were done. It seems that Momo has calmed down a bit too during that time. So, they all headed to the studio.

In the game show, the idols were separated into three teams to compete with each other. The teams were selected through lots. The first team consists of Tamaki, Yuki and Yamato. The second team consists of Iori, Sougo and Nagi while third team consisted of Riku, Mitsuki and Momo.

On the first team’s side, Tamaki didn’t seem to mind whatever team he was in but he did seem happy to be in a team with Yuki and Yamato. Yuki, even though he didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t in a team with Momo, looked quite happy to be in a team with Yamato. Yamato, on the other hand, was feeling annoyed, looking at Yuki.

“It’s nice to work with you again, Yamato-kun” said Yuki with a smile on his face while Yamato gave back a strained smile and said, “It is good to work with you too, Senpai”

On the second team’s side, Iori was already thinking of how to make use the team members’ dynamics to have an advantage. _’If it is going to be on knowledge, I’ll take part. Osaka-san and Rokuya-san are good at daring games and’_ like this Iori’s head was starting to fill with ideas while Sougo and Nagi were just really excited for the game show to start.

On the third team’s side, the excitement flowing out from Riku, Mitsuki and Momo could be really felt in a way. “Let’s do our best Mitsuki, Momo-san” said Riku with an innocent smile on his face.

“We’ll definitely beat them and win this” said Mitsuki, feeling a bit fired up.

“That’s the spirit. For the sake of my kouhais, I won’t even go easy on Yuki this time” said Momo, full of energy as always.

The idols from the other two teams felt like closing their eyes from the bright glow and the cuteness surrounding the three idols in the third team.

The first round of the game show was a round of quiz. Each team sent out a person to participate. The participants were Yamato, Iori and Riku. Both Iori and Riku were giving a tough fight for each other, as expected of the top student and the book lover, while Yamato also did fairly well. In the end, Iori won the round with Riku just a few points behind.

“Now for the next round” said the anchor, stretching one of his hands in a dramatic introduction gesture towards a direction. The idols saw some people take away a cover on the floor to reveal a pool with a floating bridge in the middle stretching from one end to the other. “I hope whoever is participating in this round sure knows how to swim. But don’t worry, the pool is not that deep anyways” continued the anchor. “So, let’s see who is going to participate in this round from each team”

For the second round, the participants were Tamaki, Nagi and Momo. The winner of the round will be the one who takes the least time to cross the bridge.

Tamaki was the first one to go. He took few steps on the bridge before slipping up and falling into the pool. “Wah, this bridge is really slippery” he said. He got on the bridge again and after a few slip ups, he managed to reach the other end.

Next it was Nagi, who also slipped a few times but managed to get back on the bridge quicker than Tamaki. After Nagi, it was Momo’s turn and he was the one who slipped up the least and managed to keep balance. The winner of the round was Momo with Nagi taking the second place. Tamaki came third just by a few seconds difference from Nagi.

It was a very watery round and all the three idols were drenched in water by the end of it. The only thing that kept the three idols from shivering from the outside climate was the amazing heating system in the place.

The anchor called it a break after the second round. At the end of the second round, Riku felt a presence and was going to follow it, but was interrupted by Sougo, who just saw the strange look on his face. Sougo asked, “Is something the matter, Riku-kun?”

“Ah, it’s nothing, Sougo-san” said Riku. _‘I nearly forgot. I promised not to do anything that would mix the two jobs in any way’_. Riku was feeling a bit torn on the inside. As much as Riku would like to go and investigate the presence, he is not supposed to at the moment.

While around he was debating with himself on what he should do, the drenched idols were toweling their hair. Mitsuki threw gave a towel to Nagi and told him to towel his hair well while Sougo was fussing over Tamaki. Yuki was standing near Momo and looked like he wanted to ask Momo about something but Momo excused himself to go get changed before Yuki could say anything. Good thing the idols were asked to bring an extra pair of clothes just in case.

After all the three idols got changed, the show continued with the third round being where all the three participants would be blindfolded and the other members of their team would guide them in the direction of the destination while the opponent team’s members would try to distract.

The participants of this round were Yuki, Sougo and Mitsuki. This round was a confusing round. The winner of the round was Sougo, who was the only one that was least bothered and least distracted by the opponent teams. Next place went to Mitsuki, thanks to the loud voice of his teammates. And Yuki came in the last place in that round, as he was not used to games involving blindfolds, and now it seems like the first team is well behind the other two teams.

The game show went on like this and Riku was feeling a bit confused that the presence disappeared soon after the break. But then he locked eye contact with someone and then it became clear to him.

At the end of the game show, the winner was the third team that has Riku, Momo and Mitsuki in it. The third team somehow managed to pass by the second team in the last round which involved a lot of risk taking with points on the line. The second place went to second team that is the team having Iori, Sougo and Nagi in it. The last place went to the first team that is Tamaki, Yuki and Yamato’s team.

The winners just decided to use the money won among the two groups. After the game show was over, the older ones in Idolish7 decided to go for a drink as proposed by Yamato and they also invited Re:vale to join them.

“I’ll join. What about you, Momo?” asked Yuki, turning towards his partner.

“As much as I love the idea, I promised that I would spend time with Riku after this” said Momo, declining the offer in favor of spending time with Riku.

“I see…” said Yuki, feeling a bit down. It seemed to Yuki like Momo was spending less time with him out of their jobs recently. Momo wouldn’t tell him the reason as usual in order to not burden or get Yuki involved with any of his problems.

“With Riku? Riku you didn’t say anything about a plan tonight” said Mitsuki, turning towards Riku. He finds it surprising because usually most members, especially Riku, always inform whatever plan they have beforehand. And Mitsuki is one of the first ones to be informed because he is the one preparing the meals.

“It must’ve slipped my mind” said Riku, nervously laughing. Riku really made no plans with Momo. But he decided to go with the flow for now.

“Then, we’ll be off. See you tomorrow, Darling” said Momo, waving bye to the others and pulling Riku with him outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I finally updated. The online programme that I applied for got over and so I'm finally free.
> 
> Thanks for reading this story.


	8. The Conversation and The Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku and Momo spend some time together. On the other hand, the adults in Idolish7 and Yuki gets drunk.

**In a café somewhere:**

“What would you like to order, sirs?” asked the waiter, holding a note and a pen in her hand. She looked ready to take down the orders.

“I’ll order some momorin juice and-” started Momo.

“No, you’re not” said Riku, glaring a bit in Momo’s direction. “We’ll both have some chamomile tea, please” said Riku, politely to the waiter.

The waiter looked between both of them. Then she shrugged and took down the order, seeing no objection from Momo’s side.

After the waiter left with the order in hand, Riku turned towards Momo and said, “Momo-san. No more momorin juice for you today”

“Ha ha okay. I’ll listen to you But remember that you can never have too much momorin juice or sweets” said Momo.

“You always say that” said Riku.

They kept their conversation normal like this until their order came. Riku took a sip of the tea in his cup and asked, “So, for what reason did you call me out here, Momo-san?”

“The head of your clan contacted me and…” hesitated Momo a bit.

“Huh? For what?” asked Riku and Momo could see all imaginary the question marks around Riku’s head. If it was any other situation, Momo would have found a way to tease his kouhai a bit. But as it seems, now is not the time to do that.

“He requested me to take over some of your duties. I’ll be doing your patrol duties for now” said Momo, already feeling the outburst of protest that is going to come from the redhead’s side.

“Huh? No way. Why? I can still take care of my duties on my own” protested Riku.

Momo sighed and leveled Riku with a serious look and said “You know exactly why, Riku. You are just making your health worse by handling everything on your own too”

“But…” trailed off Riku, because he knows that what Momo says is absolutely true and arguing with him on this matter would get him nowhere.

“Don’t worry. Leave everything to Momo-chan for awhile and rest a bit. You know I can take care of it” said Momo, giving Riku a big smile.

“Of course I can’t find anyone more reliable than Momo-niichan” said Riku.

“Uwaah. You are finally calling me that. You haven’t called me that since you became an idol and I was starting to feel like being resented by you” said Momo.

“I don’t resent you, of course. I bet you are just overthinking as usual. It was just to hide our connection and you know it too, Momo-niichan. And if there is anything I should be mad at you about, it is the fact that you sneaked a sleep charm near me to forcibly make me sleep AGAIN” said Riku, taking the dreamcatcher out of his bag and letting it dangle from his fingers.

“It seems I got found out again” said Momo, chuckling slightly.

“Of course I knew it was you. Momo-niichan and Shun-san both used sleep charm on me a lot that I think I might get traumatized by them” said Riku, remembering all those times.

“Though you do feel a lot better after the well needed sleep always” Momo pointed out.

“That… is… true” said Riku, accepting his defeat and also pouting a bit because he did not accept Momo’s ways still.

“Ahhh. Now that all the talk is over let us go out” said Momo, getting up from his seat and paying the bill. Riku also stood up and followed Momo to outside the café.

After catching up with Momo, he asked “Where are we going now, Momo-niichan?”

“Let us just go have some fun before my next job” said Momo, dragging Riku towards the arcade games place.

* * *

**Idolish7 Dorm:**

“I’m back” announced Riku after entering the dorms. He took off the coat he was wearing and hung it on a hanger near the doorway. Suddenly he saw something on the side and sidestepped only to avoid a blow from a very drunk Mitsuki just in time.

“No fair. You should get punishment for coming home late. Kneel down now ha ha” said Mitsuki, his face already red from being drunk.

Riku kneeled down out of habit and listened to Mitsuki’s half slurred drunken lecture of how he should be a good kid.

Then after a few lines of Mitsuki’s lecture passed, Nagi showed up. “MITSUKI’S LOCATION IS FOUND OUT. Mission success”.

“Rokuya-san, this is not a game” said Iori, walking towards the three.

“Ah, Iori. I thought Mitsuki, Sougo-san, Yamato-san and Yuki-san were going to the bar to drink” asked Riku in mild confusion.

“That was the case but it seems that Nii-san and Ousaka-san got drunk quick as usual. So, Nikaido-san and Yuki-san decided to drag them and come here” Iori sighed. “The adults in this group are so irresponsible. Ow. Nii-san!”.

“You are getting a yellow card for saying that” said Mitsuki, with one of his hands still raised from hitting his brother.

Nagi managed to restrain Mitsuki and the three minors and the drunk major went towards the main living room of the dorm to witness the sight of Tamaki keeping a bottle of vodka away from Sougo’s reach. Then on one of the sofas Yamato and Yuki were seated with Yuki complaining about Momo hiding something from him again while Yamato is giving some life advice to Yuki in return.

“Ta-kun. Give me that. I need more vodka” said Sougo, still trying to reach for the bottle.

“Definitely not, Sou-chan. You can’t drink more” said Tamaki.

“I want to. You’re being really mean to me, Ta-kun” said Sougo, pouting.

“Atleast this is not as bad as it could be” said Riku, remembering the times the adults in Idolish7 gets drunk with Re:vale and Trigger. Those times were both fun and chaotic.

“I guess so” sighed Iori.

“You should go to sleep now, Sou-chan” said Tamaki, starting to pull the protesting Sougo to his room.

“Sou-chan doesn’t want to go to sleep” whined Sougo. “Sou-chan will only go to sleep if Ta-kun, Rikkun and Iorin sing me a song”

“Why am I not mentioned there?” said Nagi.

“It has to be a TRIGGER song” said Sougo.

“Guess we have no other choice” said Iori, choosing one of TRIGGER’s song called Diamond Fusion for the three of them to sing.

“I’ll sing Tenn-nii’s part” said Riku excitedly.

“Then I’ll take Ryuu-aniki’s part” said Tamaki.

“I’m left with Yaotome-san’s part then” said Iori.

Then the three started to sing.

* * *

**An hour later:**

After singing TRIGGER’s song in which Riku sang Tenn’s part perfectly, as expected, Sougo was dragged to go and sleep in his room by Tamaki. Nagi managed to pull Mitsuki to his room. Then Yamato, who fell asleep on the sofa with Yuki, was carried to his room.

Riku was about to place a blanket on Yuki, who was sleeping on the sofa, when he heard Yuki murmur something in his sleep, “Momo, don’t leave me here alone”.

_‘Yuki-san must be subconsciously thinking about the time Momo-niichan almost left him. Though that memory is one that is supposed to be erased’_ thought Riku.

While the minors in Idolish7 group were discussing where to place Yuki to sleep for the night, the calling bell rang and it was Re:vale’s manager, Okazaki Rinto.

“I’m sorry if Yuki caused any problems. Thanks for taking care of him. I’ll bring him to his home now” said Rinto, starting to put one of Yuki’s arms around his neck and drag him. Nagi pulled Yuki’s other arm to help carry him. Rinto nodded towards Nagi in appreciation.

“It was no problem. You came just on time” said Iori politely. He was a bit surprised about how the Re:vale’s manager came in perfect timing.

“Ha ha. That is because Momo-kun guessed that Yuki would be here now and asked me to pick him up. Momo-kun even told he would treat me later even though this is my responsibility as a manager”

“Managers sure have it rough” said Riku.

“Well, even if we do have it rough, seeing the idols we manage shine bright on the stage makes all the effort worth it” said Rinto. Then after placing the sleeping idol inside the car, he said goodbye to the other idols and drove his car towards Yuki’s home.

* * *

**Riku’s Flashback:**

_Riku was standing outside a door and peeking lightly into a room in worry. He could see the figure of a person who was his teacher and one of the strongest person he knows. But now, none of the person’s usual confidence could be seen at the moment._

_The black and white haired male was crouched down and sobbing slightly. “It was my fault that Yuki-san got hurt. If only I wasn’t so selfish and if only I hadn’t gotten closer to Yuki-san. I can’t protect anyone”._

_That was the first time Riku saw Momo, who was good at hiding his emotions with a smile present on his face always, break down like that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this story. Please do review.
> 
> I'm really sorry that I'm updating late again. I've got no excuses. I'll try to update atleast weekly once. And this story is not going into hiatus.


	9. The Siblings Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Riku and Momo spend some time with their siblings.

“Hm? A text from Tenn-nii?” Riku wondered curiously about what his brother would text him as Riku is the one who usually texts to Tenn first. It is rare for Tenn to initiate a conversation with Riku in the RabbiChat.

“Nanase-san. Refrain yourself from browsing your phone at work” said Iori, after taking a few sips from a water bottle.

“But we’re already done with this job, Iori. I was just checking my messages for a bit” responded Riku.

The Fly Away duo aka Iori and Riku both finished a job in a studio and were getting ready to leave. Riku took his bag and slung it over his shoulder, still looking at his phone.

“Look at this, Iori. I got a text from Tenn-nii asking me whether I’m free during lunch time” said Riku excitedly.

“I see. Surprisingly, Kujou-san was the one who started the conversation this time” noted Iori. Riku complains to Iori about stuff. So, Iori obviously could point out what was going through Riku’s mind in this case.

_‘Iori is sharp as always’_ thought Riku in awe.

“Yeah. Anyway, do you want to join us for lunch?” asked Riku, because after the break, both the idols have the next job together too.

“I’ll pass. I’d rather not impose on your alone time with your brother” said Iori.’ _And risk the wrath of your twin too at the same time’_ was the thought going through his head. “I have something else to do too”.

“Something else?” questioned Riku with curiosity.

“I’m going shopping to buy some stationary in the nearby mall” said Iori.

“Ah, that mall! I heard some staff members speaking about some special limited sale on Usamimi friends merchandise taking place there today” said Riku, recalling that particular conversation that he overheard by chance.

“It is not like I’m going for that sale. I only like cool and sharp stationary” said Iori, flushing a bit in embarrassment as he denies whatever he thinks Riku is hinting at. Iori was feeling a bit unnerved at the unbelieving stare he received from his partner in return.

“Hmmm. Whatever you say” said Riku. _‘Even though you already stocked up your stationary this week and I know it’._ But Riku knew that, Iori being the tsundere that he is would definitely not admit it.

“Then I’ll be leaving now” said Riku, after he put his mask and glasses on along with a cap that Sougo suggested that he wear earlier that day. He texted back to his brother that he is free during lunch and soon got the location of a restaurant from him.

* * *

**Meanwhile somewhere else:**

“Finally finished with the reports” cheered Momo, taking all the reports and arranging them in order to hand it over to his sister who was seated right next to him. After handing over the neat pile of reports to his sister, he stretched a bit. Momo, having finished the practical part of some his jobs, decided to write the reports and hand them over when he got some time in the middle of his never ending idol work schedule. That is what brought him to the place he is at the moment, his older sister’s home.

“The reports are fine. Good job” said Sunohara Ruri, after scanning through the reports. Sunohara Ruri is an exorcist too but she’s usually not given dangerous jobs. She is a really trusted person within their clan and is part of the information network. She has black curly hair and her eyes look similar to her brother.

“Whew. Then I’ll be leaving now” said Momo, getting up so that he can gather his things and leave. But as he was about to leave, someone stopped by catching hold of his hoodie of his sweater.

“Where do you think you are going?” asked Ruri.

“I have a job after lunch, Nee-chan. So, I thought I would eat outside before that” answered Momo.

“Not when your Nee-chan cooked lunch for you” said Ruri. It seems she prepared lunch in advance for both of them and she just has to reheat the food.

Momo blinked once and his eyes sparkled, “I love your cooking, Nee-chan”

“You love my cooking even more than Yuki-san’s?” Ruri teasingly asked, letting go of his hoodie.

“That is tough to decide. Yuki’s cooking is amazing too. Yuki is so cool when he cooks” said Momo, thinking about those moments when his partner cooks for him. Yuki is an amazing cook who knows how to cook even with less number of ingredients.

“I will not lose in cooking. Look at what I made” she said proudly.

“These are all my favorites” exclaimed Momo happily when he looked at the food.

“It has been awhile since you visited me. So, I made this specially for you” she said. Momo felt a bit guilty that he didn’t have the time to visit his sister for the past few weeks. But his sister just waved it off as she knows and understands that Momo is quite busy. Then she sighed dramatically,” I could die happy if I could cook for Ban-san and he says that my food is delicious”.

“You have a fiancée, Nee-chan” reminded Momo as he always does.

“You know that doesn’t matter when it comes to Ban-san” she said.

“It does matter” Momo protested.

After the two settled down to eat after Ruri reheated the food, they both ate their lunch while occasionally talking with each other. After sometime, Momo’s phone gave a beep sound. Momo opened his phone to see that he got a message from Yuki asking him to hang out together after job that day. Momo hesitated for a moment before replying that he won’t be able to.

Ruri, who was sitting beside her brother, noticed what happened. She asked, “Why don’t you hang out with Yuki-san today, Momo? You just finished the bunch of work that you had. You should just enjoy the free time”.

“You saw how things are going right, Nee-chan. I’m 90% sure there would be a meeting tonight” Momo said. Momo is also an informant and he has his own way of finding out stuff earlier than others.

Ruri could see Momo’s point. Then she decided to bring up another issue. She asked, “Momo. You’ve known Yuki-san for more than 5 years. Isn’t it about time you trusted him with what you do aside from being an idol?”

Momo started to protest by saying, “Nee-chan. You know I can’t do that. It is not like I don’t trust him. But I don’t want to trouble Yuki with this”

Ruri said, “I think you’re troubling him more by keeping this a secret from him”. Ruri really worries at times for her brother who doesn’t like troubling others with his problems and keeps everything to himself, usually not asking help unless it is for someone else’s sake.

“Nee-chan. Don’t worry. I’ll think of a way” said Momo, then he got up after saying, “Thanks for the food”.

“It is about time for my next job. See you tonight, Nee-chan” Momo said, hurrying out after waving bye to his sister to which she replied with a “Take care”.

* * *

**Near Zero Arena:**

“It was really fun, Tenn-nii” said Riku with a really happy expression on his face with imaginary flowers floating around him.

“Yeah, it was” agreed Tenn with Riku. As much as Tenn preferred to give more priority to being a professional idol at times and also keeps his brother at a distance for that, he really enjoys spending time with his brother like this.

After having lunch together, both Tenn and Riku decided to hang out for a bit because both of them had a bit more time on their hands. They went around sightseeing in shops and even had entered the mall for a few minutes. Riku got lost in a crowd of people at one point because he thought he saw Iori and went in that direction. He got subjected to Tenn’s famous lecture for his carelessness after Tenn found him inside the crowd. Now they were just standing near the Zero Arena and admiring the view.

“Too bad we didn’t bump into Iori inside the mall. I’m pretty sure that was the mall he went to” Riku said.

“Maybe Izumi Iori left the mall by the time we entered” suggested Tenn, making Riku pout.

Then a few minutes passed by with Riku talking with Tenn and most of what Riku talked about in one way or another was related to Idolish7. Tenn noted how Riku doesn’t mention their parents whenever they talked.

Riku glanced towards Tenn. Riku felt like his brother was acting a bit odd and he had an oddly familiar expression on his face. _‘Where have I seen this expression before? Hmmmm’_ was the thought going through his head. He placed one of his hands under his chin a thinking position before a light bulb lighted on top of his head in realization. _‘Ah, that is the expression that Aunt Mika has on her face when she really wants to ask me about something but is not sure whether she should’_

He stared at his brother’s face. Tenn looked back and asked, “What is it, Riku? Is there something on my face?”

“There is nothing on your face, Tenn-nii. It is just that…. Do you want ask about something to me?” Riku asked in return.

“There is nothing I want to ask about now” Tenn replied hastily, while trying to keep on a face of indifference at being caught.

“Really?”, Riku asked again.

Tenn gave in because he knew from the look that his brother is giving him that he would not let him off that easily. Riku can be really persistent. So Tenn said, “You never talk much about our parents. Why is that?”

“Isn’t that because Tenn-nii asked me not bring up our past much?” asked Riku confused. “If you want to know about our parents, I’m pretty sure our parents are doing fine now”

“Pretty sure?” asked Tenn. _‘It feels like Riku talks about their parents with less certainity than when he talks about his friends’_ thought Tenn.

“Uh yeah. I don’t keep as much contact as I used to with them nowadays because they didn’t want to trouble me when I’m busy with work as idol” said Riku.

Tenn could see that Riku is telling the truth. Tenn sighed in relief. When he heard something about an aunt and also Riku not speaking much about their parents, he assumed the worst. Seems like that was not the case. But still he felt the need to ask Riku about the other relative since Tenn had a feeling that the person Riku mentioned to Gaku is important to his brother.

“Riku. Have you ever met any of our relatives?” asked Tenn suddenly.

Riku froze for a second before saying “Huh? What are you talking about Tenn-nii? Our parents are not in contact with any of our relatives”. He said this with a nervous chuckle.

Riku’s phone rang at that moment before Tenn could form a reply. Riku answered the phone and it was Iori, who called to remind Riku to be on the job location in a few minutes.

“It seems it is about time for my next job, Tenn-nii. See you later” said Riku before walking towards the location which is thankfully near.

Tenn waved bye to his brother and then he looked towards Riku’s back as he walked off. Then Tenn muttered under his breath, ”That answer to my last question was definitely a lie”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my story.
> 
> It has been a while since I last edited. I'm sorry if I made some of you wait for long. I'm so happy that my reader believed that I won't abandon this story.


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